The Dumb Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 112: Li Jiujiang Becomes Famous for His Daily Scolding of the Emperor

early morning.

"Ouch—my butt!"

A scream startled Li Zengzhi, who was wrapped in the blanket, and made him jump up.

He got up from his makeshift bed and rushed to the bedside.

Li Jinglong lay face down on the bed, his buttocks up, his face contorted. He must have accidentally rolled over and bumped his wound.

"Brother, your butt is still there," Li Zengzhi comforted him.

Li Jinglong clenched his fists, gritting his teeth: "Zhu Yuanzhang, how cruel you are! I'm your grand-nephew! Slapping my butt is like slapping your own face!"

Li Zengzhi sighed, "Brother, keep your voice down. If this gets back to the palace, you'll be beheaded next time."

2

"Wouldn't that be even better? It would solve everything at once," Li Jinglong said.

"If your head were to be moved, wouldn't I be left a widow?" Li Zengzhi said with a resentful look.

Li Jinglong was speechless: "That's not how you use the word 'widow.'"

"Of the direct descendants of the Duke of Cao's mansion, only you and I are left now. If you were gone, wouldn't I be all alone?"

"Isn't that just being alone and widowed?" Li Zengzhi said.

"Being a widow means your wife has died, while being a widow means your whole family has died. They are two different things," Li Jinglong said.

Li Zengzhi sighed: "It's just miserable."

Li Jinglong rolled his eyes: "Alright, we're not that easy to die."

Li Zengzhi immediately leaned in, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness: "Brother, when His Majesty spanked you, was it just for show?"

"Why do you think that?" Li Jinglong was secretly alarmed.

"I sensed something was off when I went to see the imperial physician yesterday," Li Zengzhi analyzed. "Dai Sigong was already waiting. That's Dai Sigong, the imperial physician who treats His Majesty. And I noticed that the best wound medicine was already prepared in his medicine chest."

Li Jinglong lay on his pillow and looked at his brother intently.

This kid seems a bit unreliable most of the time, but he's quick-witted when it really matters.

"You're overthinking it. I am, after all, the eldest son of the Duke of Cao," he scoffed.

"You can't say, can you?" Li Zengzhi pursed his lips. "I understand. Serving His Majesty involves many secrets. You see, last night I didn't even let Zhao Qing come in to serve me. I slept on the floor myself, just so she wouldn't notice anything amiss."

Li Jinglong lay on the bed and blinked.

When did this kid become so smart?

Breakfast was served.

Li Jinglong finished eating in an extremely shameful posture.

With its face turned to the side and its mouth close to the edge of the bowl, it looked like a pig rooting for food.

"Brother, the way you eat is so bad, even our ancestors would crawl out of their graves if they saw it."

"Why don't you try lying down like that?"

He can only lie in this position right now.

How can a man lie on his stomach?

In his past life, he always confronted things head-on.

If you only look at his back, can you even call yourself a man?

Li Jinglong buried his face in the pillow and let out a long, frustrated sigh.

-

"Second Young Master, Minister Wang of the Ministry of Justice and Vice Minister Guo of the Ministry of Revenue have arrived. They say they have come to visit the Young Duke," the steward announced from outside the door.

"Please let them in." Li Jinglong gestured to Li Zengzhi, "Wait, first remove the cloth covering my bottom."

Li Zengzhi frowned: "Brother, isn't this a bit unseemly?"

"If no one sees this, wouldn't I have taken this beating for nothing?" Li Jinglong glared.

Li Zengzhi immediately understood, reached out and lifted the cloth aside, then turned and went out to invite someone.

A short while later, Wang Huidi, the Minister of Justice, and Guo Huan, the Vice Minister of Revenue, entered one after the other.

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk!" Guo Huan's expression was full of heartache. "Young Duke, does it hurt? You've been beaten like this."

Is there any good meat left?

Wang Huidi sighed, "How dare you insult His Majesty? He's His Majesty! You're incredibly audacious."

Li Jinglong lay on his pillow and snorted, "Stubborn and greedy, bloodthirsty by nature. Shouldn't he be scolded?"

"Young Duke! Shut up! His Majesty is a great ruler, a great emperor for all time," Wang Huidi hurriedly said.

Guo Huan quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, some corrupt officials deserve to die."

Li Jinglong looked up, his expression strange.

Ha ha.

Next year it will be your turn.

You're still putting on airs with me, aren't you?

"Your Majesty governs the country with ruthlessness, and the legal system is extremely strict. Officials live in constant fear, and the people tread on thin ice. Shouldn't this be condemned?" Li Jinglong said.

Wang Huidi and Guo Huanhan both came out.

They just came to see if Li Jinglong had really been beaten; they didn't expect to get themselves into trouble.

"Don't say that. His Majesty has his own sense of propriety. You're too young to understand," Wang Huidi said.

"He called me trash!" Li Jinglong said, getting angrier as he spoke. "Can't I even say something back to him?"

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Guo Huan quickly changed the subject: "What did the imperial physician say about the young duke's injury?"

Li Zengzhi chimed in, "The imperial physician said that with such a serious injury, the skin is torn and the flesh is ripped open. He won't be able to get out of bed for at least a month. My elder brother is really suffering this time."

Li Jinglong let out a groan in response.

Wang Huidi and Guo Huan sighed repeatedly, offered some words of comfort, and then got up to take their leave.

As the two reached the door, Li Jinglong's voice came: "Wait until I'm better, then we'll go to the brothel together."

Wang Huidi tripped on the threshold and almost fell flat on her face.

Guo Huan helped him up and hurried away without looking back.

Li Jinglong yawned: "I'm going to take a nap, you can go out first."

Li Zengzhi responded and went to the courtyard for some fresh air.

Not long after, he came in: "Brother, Censor Han Yike has come to see you."

Han Yike? That outspoken censor who dared to contradict Zhu Yuanzhang?

"Why is he here?" Li Jinglong frowned. "Please invite him in."

Soon, Han Yike came in.

After examining Li Jinglong's injuries, he said with admiration, "Young Duke, I admire you. You are braver than us censors. You speak so succinctly."

Li Jinglong: "You don't know?" Han Yike saw his blank expression. "Now the whole capital knows about you. You scolded His Majesty and were beaten with twenty strokes of the cane. You may not be able to inherit the title of Duke of Cao."

Li Jinglong: "Uh————"

This must have been secretly spread by the Embroidered Uniform Guard at the behest of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Old Zhu is really good at this kind of trick.

"Young Duke, once you've recovered, come to the Censorate. We need people like you; you're a natural-born censor."

Han Yike was somewhat excited.

Li Jinglong sighed.

This Lord Han has misunderstood something quite deeply.

"Lord Han," he said dejectedly, "I know I'll never be able to hold office. His Majesty himself called me a good-for-nothing and said I should never inherit the title of Duke of Cao. My life is over."

Upon hearing this, Han Yike immediately patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Duke Shao! Once His Majesty's anger has subsided, I will definitely submit a memorial requesting that you be admitted to the Censorate."

You mustn't!

Whoever wants to be Zhu Yuanzhang's official, let them do it.

Li Jinglong shook his head, his eyes dim and his tone desolate: "Scholars in the court suffer calamity and have their entire families implicated if they utter a single dissenting word. Your Majesty, though an emperor, lacks the demeanor of one; though you hold the power of life and death, you lack the heart of a benevolent ruler."

"Sigh, I'm quitting his official post."

Han Yike's eyes lit up instantly: "Okay, okay, you really dare to curse."

Li Jinglong: "————"

Are you sick in the head?!

However, this Han Yi is also a brave man.

There weren't many people in the Hongwu reign who dared to oppose Zhu Yuanzhang, but he was one of them.

Then let him spread my fame.

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